A flat-bottomed vessel is a flat-bottomed boat, built for instance for river and canal transport of heavy goods or persons. Some vessels are not self-propelled and need to be towed or pushed by towboats. Due to the large length of such vessels there is a large contact surface between the bottom of such a vessel and the water in which the vessel is placed and this large surface generates a lot of drag during movement of the vessel in the water.
It is known to provide such a flat-bottomed vessel with a drag reduction system for instance using air bubbles, such that the drag may be reduced.
Improving the efficiency of such a flat-bottomed vessel is an ongoing need felt by a skilled person in the field.